REIMAGINING POLICING, PUBLIC SAFETY AND PROSPERITY - Ashwin Nair - The ...
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
REIMAGINING POLICING, PUBLIC
SAFETY AND PROSPERITY
Ashwin NairTABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Executive Summary………………………………………………………………………………………………3 2. Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………………………………4 3. Demilitarization of Police……………………………………………………………………………………….5 4. Decriminalization………………………………………………………………………………………………….7 5. Overhaul and Replacement of Traditional Police Services……………………………………………11 2
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Though systemic racism in Canada manifests itself in several institutions, this report focuses
particularly on systemic racism within the institution of policing. The racialized nature of policing
in Canada, whether it be by city police forces, provincial police forces or the RCMP, has
disproportionately targeted Black Canadians and Indigenous peoples.
This report makes three broad categories of policy options with their corresponding timeframes
for introduction:
1. Demilitarization of police (short-term)
2. Decriminalization (short-term)
3. Overhaul & replacement of traditional police services (medium- to long-term)
Each policy option can be summarized as follows:
1. Demilitarization of police (short-term)
• Canadian police forces can eliminate their procurement of military-grade equipment,
including assault rifles and armoured vehicles, as well as guns and tasers in favour of
increased public safety, all while redirecting funds toward improving local economic
situations
2. Decriminalization (short-term)
• Ending street checks, or “carding”, would render Canadian streets safer for Black and
Indigenous peoples, the disproportionate targets of these checks
• Several criminal acts, by today’s standards, are a result of harsh personal economic
situations, and hence decriminalizing them in favour of redirecting police funds
toward targeting the roots of poverty may produce better societal outcomes; this
includes decriminalizing minor crimes, public transit enforcement, drugs and sex work
3. Overhaul & replacement of traditional police services (medium- to long-term)
• Police duties can be reduced to dealing exclusively with violent crime, such as active
shooter situations, kidnappings and murders, while existing funds can be redirected
toward developing entirely new and separate mental health services, gender-based
violence services and traffic services in order to promote universal safety and
increased prosperity
3INTRODUCTION The killing of George Floyd on May 25, 2020 in Minneapolis led to reignited calls for racial justice through mass Black Lives Matter demonstrations initially starting in the United States, but later spreading internationally, including to Canada. The primary focus of recent discussions on racial justice has been around policing, particularly with unified calls for governments to defund their police forces and reinvest those funds into community prosperity. Canada has a substantial history of colonization, slavery and racist immigration policies that have informed the institutions with which Canadians interact. Examples of this include the North-West Mounted Police (NWMP), precursor to the RCMP, being established to facilitate European settlement in the west through the coerced dislocation of Indigenous peoples on to reserves, the last racially segregated school in Canada only closing in 1983, the Chinese Head Tax that discouraged Chinese immigration after the completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway, as well as the Indian residential school system. Systemic racism in Canada today is centred around differential outcomes for Black, Indigenous and other racialized peoples when interacting with these institutions. This report intends to reckon with the history of ongoing systemic racism in Canada, focusing on policing, which disproportionately affect Black Canadians and Indigenous peoples. It lays the policy groundwork to successfully divest from police forces for universalized public safety while working toward greater levels of prosperity among communities. 4
DEMIILITARIZATION OF POLICE
Ending the use of military equipment by Canadian police forces
Recent years have seen an increasing procurement of military-grade weapons and equipment by
Canadian police forces. In 2016, the Canadian Armed Forces donated more than 2000 assault rifles
to 68 different police forces across the country 1 . Simultaneously, more armoured vehicles are
being purchased by police forces, such as those in Halifax2 and Calgary3. Additionally, the Toronto
Police Service, in 2010, was able to keep over 400 gas masks and 4 Long Range Acoustic Devices,
which were originally designed for use by the US military, after procuring them to confront the G20
protests.
The purchase of military-grade equipment is often justified by police forces citing occurrence of
armed suspects followed by a shootout with the police, though such instances are quite rare in
Canada. According to Statistics Canada, just 0.6% of police-reported crime in 2016 involved a
suspect equipped with a firearm4.
The purchase of armoured vehicles costing approximately $500,000 each, as was the case in
Calgary, appears to be grossly disproportionate to crimes that threaten large-scale public safety in
Canada. Instead, funds going toward armoured vehicles, assault rifles and other military-grade
equipment can be redirected toward improving how we fare in terms of social development.
Banning the carrying of firearms by police officers
Canada has seen a steady increase in civilians killed by police between the years 2000 and 2017,
totalling 461 incidents during this period of time 5 . More than 70% of the victims of these
encounters were experiencing mental health and substance abuse problems, and the two ethnic
groups that were disproportionately targeted were Indigenous peoples and Black Canadians. In
Toronto, Black Canadians made up 37% of all victims while only representing 8.3% of the
population. In Winnipeg, Indigenous peoples represent 10.6% of the population but made up over
60% of all victims.
1
https://thetyee.ca/News/2020/06/23/Canadas-Military-Gave-2000-Assault-Rifles-To-Police/
2
https://globalnews.ca/news/6110179/halifax-police-armoured-vehicle-spring-2020/
3
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/calgary-police-new-arv-purchase-1.5090813
4
https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/85-005-x/2018001/article/54962-eng.htm
5
https://newsinteractives.cbc.ca/longform-custom/deadly-force
5Over 80% of civilians killed by police over the 18-year period did were not equipped with a firearm.
While the aforementioned statistic was reflective of fatal police encounters exclusively, police have
an even lower chance of encounters involving a civilian with a firearm more largely. Therefore, it is
worthy of discussion whether it is even necessary for police officers to be armed with weapons of
force, such as guns and tasers, if their encounters by and large do not require them.
In countries similar to Canada, such as Great Britain and New Zealand, as well as in Norway, officers
are not armed on duty6. Interestingly, fewer civilians are killed by police in these countries. In 2016,
just one person was killed by police in Norway7, compared to the 41 people that were killed by
police in Canada in that same year. In 2018, just one person was killed by police in New Zealand8,
whereas the same figure in Canada was at least 57 in the same year9. In spite of police officers in
New Zealand being unarmed, 18 police officers in New Zealand have been killed on the job by a
criminal act between 1961 and 200910. This is a significantly lower number than the 133 Canadian
police officers that were killed on the job during the same time period11. This may support the
theory that an armed suspect would be much less likely to shoot an unarmed police officer, as
proposed by the author of The End of Policing, Alex S. Vitale, in his book.
6
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2015/02/18/5-countries-where-police-officers-do-not-carry-
firearms-and-it-works-well/
7
https://www.thelocal.no/20161128/norwegian-police-involved-in-just-fourth-fatal-shooting-in-14-years
8
https://www.police.govt.nz/sites/default/files/publications/annual-tactical-options-research-report-7.pdf
9
https://www.straight.com/news/1186606/jeff-shantz-another-deadly-year-policing-least-57-police-involved-deaths-
canada-2018
10
https://www.police.govt.nz/about-us/history-and-museum/memorial/officers-killed-criminal-acts
11
https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/85-002-x/2010003/article/11354-eng.htm
6DECRIMINALIZATION
Ending patrolling and street checks
In Vancouver, over a 10-year period, 15% of the targets of street checks, or “carding”, were
Indigenous, despite making up only 2% of the city’s population12. According to the Nova Scotia
Human Rights Commission, over a 12-year period, Black Nova Scotians were found to be nearly six
times more likely to be street checked by police compared to their white counterparts 13 . In
Montreal, an independent report commissioned by the City of Montreal found that Black and
Indigenous peoples were 4 to 5 times more likely to be street checked in the city when compared
to their white counterparts14. A large volume of research has been conducted demonstrating that
the primary targets of street checks are Black and Indigenous peoples, leading to a civilian
database at police headquarters across Canada that disproportionately consist of members of
these communities.
Street checks are traditionally perceived to be a crime-reduction strategy, though there is a lack of
evidence to corroborate this claim. Internal emails obtained by the Toronto Star in 2015 revealed
the Peel police Chief at the time asking senior uniformed staff for “success stories” as a response
to media scrutiny on the issue15. Additionally, an independent report by Ontario Court of Appeal
Justice Michael Tulloch found that there is little to no evidence of the efficacy of street checks in
reducing crime, and called for police carding to be banned in Ontario, citing a “social cost” to the
program16. A report on street checks by the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission elaborates on
the social cost of street checks, saying that the racial profiling caused by street checks can
negatively impact mental and physical health, as well as undermine the legitimacy of the criminal
justice system amongst groups most targeted by the police17.
12
https://www.straight.com/news/1090451/stakes-are-high-chief-adam-palmer-he-defends-vancouver-police-street-
checks
13
https://www.thestar.com/halifax/2019/03/27/black-people-in-halifax-almost-6-times-more-likely-to-be-stopped-by-
police-than-white-report.html
14
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/spvm-racial-profiling-report-recommendations-and-findings-1.5311589
15
https://web.archive.org/web/20151105004915/http://www.thestar.com/news/city_hall/2015/09/30/peel-police-
struggle-to-find-proof-carding-works-emails-reveal.html
16
https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2018/12/31/police-carding-should-be-banned-in-ontario-independent-review-
says.html
17
https://humanrights.novascotia.ca/streetchecks
7Ending the criminalization of the symptoms of poverty
Minor Crimes
The goal of ending the criminalization of certain street-level offences is to reduce an armed, force-
based presence within the public sphere that may particularly threaten the safety of marginalized
and vulnerable peoples in society.
In the same spirit of the racial profiling in street checks that occur across Canada, laws like unlawful
assembly, loitering, public intoxication and more disproportionately target Indigenous peoples,
Black Canadians, other racialized Canadians and the unhoused in society. By ending the
criminalization of laws like these, marginalized communities are no longer vulnerable to police
interventions that may threaten their safety.
Public Transit Policing
In Edmonton, Indigenous peoples were found to make up 43.8% of tickets and 44.5% of warnings
issued by the Edmonton Transit Service, despite only making up 6% of Edmonton’s population18.
In Toronto, the Toronto Star investigated and found that Toronto Transit Commission (TTC)
officers were disproportionately targeting Black Canadians for tickets and recorded their personal
information when they were issued warnings19. There was another instance on the TTC in February
2018 where multiple police officers and a TTC fare inspector had pinned down a Black teenager on
a streetcar for approximately 20 minutes20. Ending the presence of officers on public transit across
Canada would ensure a safer public space for Black and Indigenous peoples, and the resources
originally allocated to fare inspection can be redirected to making transit more affordable or even
free. Luxembourg became the first country in the world in 2020 to make all public transit free21,
though some jurisdictions in Canada already have a portion of their transit available at zero-cost
for passengers. In Calgary, the CTrain is free-of-charge between City Hall and West/Kerby
18
https://edmontonjournal.com/news/local-news/indigenous-people-racial-minorities-over-ticketed-on-edmonton-
transit-data-shows
19
https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2019/09/18/ttc-commits-to-using-race-based-data-to-eliminate-discrimination-
every-rider-should-feel-safe-and-respected.html
20
https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/video-shows-black-teen-pinned-to-ground-ttc-fare-inspector-suspended-with-pay-
1.3817021
21
https://qz.com/1810923/luxembourg-follows-dozens-of-cities-making-public-transit-
free/#:~:text=Luxembourg%20just%20became%20the%20first,an%20annual%20pass%20until%20now.
8Stations22. In Winnipeg, the Downtown Spirit is a bus route that operates in the downtown area for
free23.
Drug Offences
According to VICE news, prior to Canada’s legalization of cannabis, Indigenous peoples in Regina
were nine times more likely to get arrested for cannabis possession than white people between
2015 to the first half of 2017, while Black people in Halifax were more than five times more likely
than their white counterparts to be arrested for possession of cannabis during the same time
period 24 . This is in spite of relatively similar levels of cannabis use among Black and white
populations25.
In Toronto, Black Canadians with no criminal history are three times more likely than their white
counterparts to be arrested for a simple drug possession26. Additionally, nearly 50% of new HIV
infections among Indigenous peoples are attributed to injection drug use27. A report written in 2017
by the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination expressed concerns
over Canada’s drug policy and its relationship with the incarceration of Black, Indigenous and other
racialized minorities28. There is a need to shift from viewing drug abuse as a criminal issue toward
viewing it as a public health issue. Through decriminalization, funds from the policing of drug use,
often a symptom of precarious conditions and poverty, can be redirected toward needle and
syringe programs and safe supply.
Portugal became the first country in the world to decriminalize the possession and consumption
of drugs in 2001, where authorities would issue warnings or a fine or require users to appear before
a local commission consisting of a doctor, lawyer and a social worker to discuss treatment 29 .
Results of drug decriminalization in Portugal include drops in substance abuse, HIV and hepatitis
22
https://freepublictransport.info/city/calgary/
23
https://winnipegtransit.com/en/service/downtownspirit/
24
https://www.vice.com/en_ca/article/d35eyq/black-and-indigenous-people-are-overrepresented-in-canadas-weed-
arrests
25
https://www.thestar.com/news/insight/2017/07/06/toronto-marijuana-arrests-reveal-startling-racial-divide.html
26
https://ricochet.media/en/1951/un-report-finds-canadian-drug-policy-is-failing-racialized-communities
27
https://ricochet.media/en/1951/un-report-finds-canadian-drug-policy-is-failing-racialized-communities
28
https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=CERD%2fC%2fCAN%2fCO%2f21-
23&Lang=en
29
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/dec/05/portugals-radical-drugs-policy-is-working-why-hasnt-the-world-
copied-it
9infection rates and overdose deaths 30 . Furthermore, in July 2020, the Canadian Association of
Chiefs of Police have called for the federal government to decriminalize small amounts of drugs
for personal consumption31.
Sex Work
Contemporary legislation leaves sex workers particularly vulnerable to exploitation and a lack of
support from the police. Black, Trans, Indigenous and Asian sex workers are particularly targeted
by police and are often victims of intimidation, threats and use of excessive force32. In 2016, an
Indigenous sex worker, named Brandy, was beaten by police officers, resulting in her ribs being
broken, while she was on her way to meet a client33. The existing criminalization of sex work has
left sex workers vulnerable to exploitation and unable to count on police services to help them in
such situations. According to Sandra Wesley, an advocate for women in the sex industry, sex
workers are currently under-protected and are accustomed to taking care of hostile situations with
a client on their own, due to the fear of arrest if the police is called34. The full decriminalization of
sex work signifies the decriminalization of sex workers and offers increased protections for sex
workers without fear of apprehension.
To conclude, the funds saved from no longer requiring the policing of those found to be loitering,
fare-evading on public transit, possessing small amounts of drugs and soliciting or engaging in sex
work can be redirected by municipalities to improve the conditions of those living in poverty by
investing in affordable housing, public transit and other anti-poverty measures.
30
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/dec/05/portugals-radical-drugs-policy-is-working-why-hasnt-the-world-
copied-it
31
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/chiefs-police-decriminalize-posession-personal-use-1.5643687
32
https://www.actioncanadashr.org/sites/default/files/2019-
04/2807_HIVLegalNetwork_SexWorkerDocumentation_Report_English_Final.pdf
33
https://www.actioncanadashr.org/sites/default/files/2019-
04/2807_HIVLegalNetwork_SexWorkerDocumentation_Report_English_Final.pdf
34
https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/murder-of-sex-worker-exposes-canada-s-hypocrisy-on-prostitution-advocate-
1.4814177
10OVERHAUL & REPLACEMENT OF TRADITIONAL POLICE
SERVICES
Mental health crises
Given that more than 70% of the civilians that were killed by police in Canada between 2000 and
2017 were suffering from a mental health crisis or substance abuse 35 , armed police officers
responding to civilians in distress or for wellness checks can be replaced by social workers or other
professionals trained in mental health crises and de-escalation to handle the situation instead. This
has already been the case in Eugene, Oregon since 1989, where Crisis Assistance Helping Out on
the Streets (CAHOOTS) dispatches medical professionals and crisis worker teams to attend to
those who may be in a psychological crisis36. They have proven to handle 99.4% calls independently
without the presence of a police officer37. Additionally, in Stockholm, Sweden, a mental health
ambulance has been established to respond to people in mental health crises38. It is important to
note that, while police officers being replaced with social workers reduces incidents that cause
physical harm, it does not necessarily eliminate system discrimination in the way that these
services are provided.
Gender-based violence
There is currently little trust between survivors of sexual assault and harassment and the police.
Only 5% of sexual assaults are reported to police39, largely due to survivors believing that reporting
their assault to police was not helpful40. Additionally, an Ipsos poll conducted in 2015 showed that,
of those who did report to the police, more than 70% of them reported a negative experience with
the police 41 . Furthermore, between two and 51% of sexual assault complaints in Canada get
dismissed as “unfounded” by police42. An option that can be considered to ameliorate the justice
system for survivors of sexual assault and harassment is to focus on diverting funds from police to
local sexual assault centres. This allows for survivors to be centred in the pursuit of justice by
35
https://newsinteractives.cbc.ca/longform-custom/deadly-force
36
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/defund-police-mental-health-crisis-intervention-1.5608627
37
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/defund-police-mental-health-crisis-intervention-1.5608627
38
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/defund-police-mental-health-crisis-intervention-1.5608627
39
https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/pub/85-002-x/2019001/article/00017-eng.pdf?st=yG3tT1GE
40
https://globalnews.ca/news/7092552/defund-police-sexual-assault/
41
https://globalnews.ca/news/7092552/defund-police-sexual-assault/
42
https://policyoptions.irpp.org/magazines/february-2020/rape-myths-and-sexism-still-cloud-police-responses-to-
sexualized-violence/
11providing aid immediately after incidents but also providing long-term support43. In Philadelphia,
an innovative model was developed that constructed partnerships between police and local sexual
assault support centres in order to further understand and fix problems with sexual assault
investigations, as well as review unfounded and closed cases to potentially identify investigative
failures and rape myths and stereotypes within those cases44. Going further than this, funds can be
directed toward setting up a separate law enforcement department that specializes in sexual
assault and harassment, where social workers with special training in dealing with issues of sexual
assault are hired and given the authority to investigate and charge suspects in addition to providing
support to survivors. Some even suggest redirecting funds toward establishing separate courts for
sexual assault trials, as they already exist in Ontario for mental health cases, drug-related cases
and domestic violence cases45.
Traffic services
Separate traffic control departments can be established with the redirection of funds from
traditional police, where traffic officers would not be required to carry firearms. In fact, in all three
of Canada’s biggest cities, parking enforcement officers are not police officers, even though
parking enforcement still exists under police forces in Toronto and Montreal.
In the Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, five solar-powered automated machines
equipped with cameras have been tasked with traffic policing and issuing fines when necessary46.
Violent crime
Violent crime of a very serious nature, such as kidnappings, murders and mass shootings, make up
a very a small percentage of crimes committed in a year. These type of crimes can be dealt with
similar to how police respond to bomb threats; with a highly specialized team trained in resolving
the issue. Today, Specialized Weapons and Tactics Unit (SWAT) teams are increasingly being
deployed in Canadian cities47. Traditionally viewed as a last resort, SWAT teams are on the rise
particularly because there is no national policy or law in place regulating the use of SWAT teams48.
Highly-specialized and restricted SWAT teams should be used to combat serious violent crime,
43
https://www.mcgilldaily.com/PoliceIssue/Restorative-Justice.html
44
https://policyoptions.irpp.org/magazines/february-2020/rape-myths-and-sexism-still-cloud-police-responses-to-
sexualized-violence/
45
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/alternatives-to-sexual-assault-trials-1.3451140
46
https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2015/mar/05/robocops-being-used-as-traffic-police-in-democratic-republic-of-
congo
47
https://theconversation.com/rise-of-the-swat-team-routine-police-work-in-canada-is-now-militarized-90073
48
https://theconversation.com/rise-of-the-swat-team-routine-police-work-in-canada-is-now-militarized-90073
12though the circumstances under which a SWAT team is to be deployed should be highly regulated
through public policy at the federal level.
13You can also read
